2002

RSAI Council initiated the RSAI Fellows Award to honour a select group of members of the Association who have made important scholarly and research contributions to the field of regional science. The inaugural Fellows were the living recipients of the Founder's Medal at that time

RSAI Fellows

RSAI fellows are distinguished scholars with a proven and recognized research record in the field of regional science during a considerable part of their scientific career. Such honored members of the RSAI are appointed after a careful nomination and selection procedure, based on a broad consultation of the RSAI membership.

The RSAI fellowship is a world-wide sign of scientific recognition that is bestowed on a regional scientist with outstanding research credentials in his/her field. The RSAI fellowship does not imply any obligation to the Association, although it is expected that fellows on a voluntary basis will serve the scientific objectives of the RSAI whenever possible or appropriate.

Regional science has over the past decade witnessed a great increase in scholarly interest and scientific publications all over the world. To create a vital Association, it is therefore critical that senior members - and, in particular, RSAI fellows – act as a role model, in particular for a younger generation. The RSAI membership should have the highest expectations on – and appreciation for – its fellows, given their past seminal research contributions.

RSAI fellows may contribute to the fulfillment of the goals of the Association by offering a scientific service or incentive to its members through various means, such as:

Organization of a fellows’ meeting at any conference venue, where a major RSAI conference is taking place (ERSA, NARSC, PRSCO, World Conference). This could be a socializing meeting (e.g., a luncheon or late afternoon drinks) or a substantive meeting (e.g., an exploratory venue addressing future research strategies or topics).

Organization of dedicated panels or focused fellows’ sessions at any major international or supraregional RSAI meeting with the aim to reflect on new methodologies or promising approaches in research.

Organization of early-bird (breakfast) meetings, luncheon meetings or late afternoon drinks meetings with a small group of young researchers, based on an open subscription/application system, in which informal presentations (5-10 minutes) are held by young researchers (‘meet the professor’ meetings).

Organization of a solid pre-conference special session at any major RSAI conference, with a balanced mix of seniors (in particular, RSAI fellows) and juniors (‘rising stars’), where fellows and rising stars present recent research work (in the long run, even joint senior-junior research work could be foreseen).

Organization of short ‘next gen’ training courses, prior to any major conference.

Organization of a voluntary ‘Foster Fellow Plan’, in which an RSAI fellow is willing to adopt for a period of (let’s say) one year a selected young researcher from a different country – of course, in consultation with his/her supervisor – with the aim to provide network contacts or scientific guidance, or perhaps to start a joint research project.

Organization of an RSAI column by a fellow in any issue of the RSAI Newsletter (of course, after consultation of the Newsletter editors).

Any meeting or panel at conferences needs to be done in consultation with the conference organizers.

Nomination and Selection Protocol of RSAI Fellows

Each RSAI member - except RSAI fellows – is entitled to nominate candidates for the RSAI fellowship, but self-nominations are not allowed. Each nomination has to be done through a standard concise nomination form that follows a systematic template.

A nominee has to be RSAI member (or a member of any section recognized by the RSAI) and to meet the qualifications mentioned in Annex A.

The selection of new RSAI fellows takes place only once a year, but nominations can be sent in at any time and will be considered for a given selection round, if they have been received before a given deadline. A nomination has a maximum life of two years.

All nominations will be put on a list supplemented with non-elected candidates for the RSAI fellowship who were on the short list from the previous year.

The short list will be screened by the RSAI fellows selection committee (in consultation with the RSAI director). This committee comprises 3 RSAI fellows appointed by the RSAI Council for a period of staggered 3-year terms. The selection committee has to seriously consider all available information on the candidates and can remove candidates (unanimous vote) who do not qualify.

The selection committee can also decide to reduce the list of nominated RSAI members to a manageable number, so that candidates can be selected with a qualified majority. This short list should normally not contain more than 10 to 12 names.

The short list is next circulated to all RSAI fellows, who have the exclusive right to vote for (a maximum of) 3 candidate-fellows. No ranking of candidates is allowed.

The selection committee can put an upper ceiling on the maximum number of candidates to be selected in a given year, if circumstances dictate so.

A vote of at least 1/3 will normally mean election, unless that would exceed the ceiling.

The selection committee informs the RSAI Director of the final selection results, who will communicate these results to the selected RSAI fellows, the RSAI Council, and the home institutions of the newly appointed fellows.

Standard Nomination Form for RSAI Fellows

Factual bio-data on candidate, including a proof for RSAI membership

Professional career of candidate (max. 100 words)

Substantive contribution to regional science (max. 200 words)

Path-breaking publications on regional science (max. 5)

Signs of international scientific recognition (max. 50 words)

Reasons for nominating the candidate (max. 50 words)

To ensure full consideration by the committee, these materials should be provided in electronic format (pdf preferred) by April 3, 2019 to Diego Puga, Chair 2019 Fellows Election Committee This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Us

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI), founded in 1954, is an international community of scholars interested in the regional impacts of national or global processes of economic and social change.